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All turnovers to be reviewed (and other rules changes)

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- All turnovers will be reviewed from the booth with no coaches' challenges needed and overtime periods in the regular season will use the same scoring rules as the postseason after NFL owners voted to approve those proposals Wednesday.

The replay official already reviews all scoring plays.

With automatic review expanded to turnovers, it won't be long before the booth makes all the replay calls, John Clayton writes.

With all turnovers now subject to review, it could lead to even more effective coaching challenges. According to ESPN Stats & Information, last season (the first with all touchdowns being reviewed), plays were reversed on 52 percent of challenges, the best rate over the past 11 seasons and 10 percent higher than in 2010.

The NFL rarely tinkered with overtime until two years ago, when the Saints won the NFC title by winning the coin toss to start the extra period, marching downfield and kicking a field goal.

The vote on adopting the overtime was 30-2.

An overtime in the regular season now will end on a team's first possession only if it scores a touchdown or the defense forces a safety. If the team kicks a field goal on its first possession, the opposing team also will get a possession. If it also kicks a field goal, the extra period continues.

Other rules changes: A team will lose a down for illegally kicking a loose ball; too many men on the field becomes a dead-ball foul; and a player receiving a crackback block is now considered a defenseless player and will result in a 15-yard penalty.

Not passed were proposals to have the booth official handle video reviews rather than the referee, and outlawing the horse-collar tackle made on quarterbacks in the pocket.

Given the NFL's concern with player safety, not extending the horse-collar rule seemed surprising. But competition committee chairman Rich McKay said the ownership "didn't think this can impact on player safety."

"The rule was developed for the open-field tackle when a defender has the chance to do something else (in making the tackle)," he said. "He's also able to use the runner's momentum against him. We didn't think that applied to the pocket, didn't see the injury risk."

The NFL has voted to make certain changes to the rules regarding overtime and reviewing turnovers. Are you in favor?

Several bylaw changes were tabled until the league meetings in May, including expanding preseason rosters to 90, designating one player suffering a major injury before Week 2 of the season as eligible to return from injured reserve, and moving the trading deadline back two weeks to after Week 8.

McKay expects them to pass at the next meetings in Atlanta.

"There were good ideas and suggestions, no resistance," he said. "We'll work on the language."

Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated the league's strong stance against non-contract bonuses such as the Saints' bounty program that got coach Sean Payton suspended for one year and cost New Orleans a $500,000 fine and two second-round draft choice. Goodell said the league will not allow any cash payments between players, whether the clubs are involved or not.

"It's not permissible and we are going to take that out of the game," he said.

Goodell expects to speak with players' union head DeMaurice Smith before the end of the week and hopes to have the NFLPA's recommendations on punishment for players involved in the bounties by then or soon after.
The NFL also will not be awarding the 2016 Super Bowl, its 50th, to any city this year. Goodell said he expects many bidders for the game.

Re: All turnovers to be reviewed (and other rules changes)

Re: All turnovers to be reviewed (and other rules changes)

I used to actually like watching a reviewed play and seeing the different replay angles and hearing the discussion of the commentators. But now it's maybe a quick single look as we go to commercials and maybe we get a look if there's not been a decision made yet when the game returns from commercials.

Without the commercials it felt like a part of the game... with the commercials it seems more and more like a break in the flow of the game.

As stated it seems like they are finding ways to get more commercials in the games than correcting an issue.

Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

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"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

Re: All turnovers to be reviewed (and other rules changes)

YAY! Another way for them to put more commercials into this game. As Bball said it use to be part of the game with them showing multiple angles and letting us see what happened on the play. That was great until they figured out they could just throw more commercials in for reviews.

Now we see a TD, cut to commercial, see the extra point, cut to commercial and back for the kickoff. We will see a big interception and then cut to commercial while they review the play and then cut back just in time to hear the announcement of what happened.

This will just drag the game on longer. I am all for getting the play right, but there is no flow and it just drags on and on sometimes.

A big meh to the overtime rules. I was fine with the sudden death rule. If you lost the coin toss play some damn defense and make a stop. If you lose to on a field goal then that is your own fault for not doing your job in regulation.

Re: All turnovers to be reviewed (and other rules changes)

IMO OT should always have equal possessions. If the team that scores first, no matter how they score, has had an extra possession, the other side should get one last crack at it. If the team that scores first has had an equal number of possessions as the other team, game over.

I like the idea of reviewing each TO. It doesn't bother me that the flow of the game suffers because I watch all games on DVR, with the game at least an hour ahead in its recording, preferrably a little more. That way I can pretty much fast forward through ALL breaks in play whether they be commercials, huddles, timeouts, injuries, etc.